The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Shot putter returns after breaking neck
Shot putter returns after breaking his neck during football scrimmage
If track and field handed out “Comeback Athlete of the Year” awards, Midview’s Dylan Kendle would be an easy winner.
It was a normal start to his day on Aug. 12, 2017, as the senior prepared for a football scrimmage against Buckeye.
By the end of the day, his life had flipped upside down — the result a broken C5 vertebra.
Eight months later, Kendle is back on the field, throwing the shot put in what can only be described as an inspirational comeback story.
“My main drive was I lost something that day,” Kendle said. “And I never want to feel that again. I pushed myself each and every day to take it slowly and really go out there and prove to myself and others that this injury doesn’t just take you away physically and mentally, but you can bounce back from it.”
But the story is best appreciated when heard from the beginning, when Kendle, an allconference lineman, was scrimmaging against Buckeye.
He was playing left guard and pulled on a trap block. As bodies collided, the 6-foot, 220-pounder’s neck awkwardly got caught underneath the opponent’s facemask, snapping his neck backward.
“I heard the snap,” Kendle said.
Kendle immediately dropped to the ground and was surrounded by his coaching staff and teammates.
He lay there, his body feeling numb, unable to move his neck, still aware that something devastating just happened to him. But seconds later, he started feeling his body move again — a positive sign.
Kendle was on the ground for about 20 minutes, cracking jokes trying to make light of a potential life-altering injury.
“I’ve never been so impressed with a kid when I saw that,” said Midview track and field coach Kevin Radigan, who is also an assistant on the football team.
When he was taken to Southwest General Hospital, Kendle was diagnosed with a fracture of the C5 vertebra or a “tear drop fracture,” which is the most severe fracture of the cervical spine, often causing anterior cervical cord syndrome and quadriplegia, according to radiopaedia. org. Initially, doctors believed surgery wasn’t necessary, but after further examinations, it was deemed required.
Kendle had successful surgery the next morning. The doctor told him that if he could get up and walk, he could leave the hospital.
“I got up and started walking so I can leave,” he said with a smirk.
Kendle was at Midview’s practice the next day, rooting the team on.
A devastating injury for sure, but it could have been worse. Kendle could have been paralyzed. It’s for that reason he has accepted what’s happened to him and is still making the most of his ability.
“I watched my dad become paralyzed this past December from cancer, and he’s 59 years old,” Radigan said. “I can’t imagine what that would be like for a teenager because he was that close. To come in here every day after school to every workout to make it possible to get cleared for track to prove to himself he can do it is just crazy.”
Throughout the football season, Kendle was there every step of the way. He would join Radigan in the press box and help with game planning.
Playing football was a dream — and that’s now gone. Enlisting with the Coast Guard was another dream — and that’s gone, too. But what is still possible is track and field, specifically the shot put.
Kendle made it one of his goals to work his way through rehab just to get ready for the season.
“I didn’t think I could do anything or any sport,” Kendle said.
Recovery time was projected around a year. Kendle made sure to make it less. The rehab was frustrating at times — mostly a mental hurdle.
Big and stout, Kendle knew he could handle the physical aspect of the process. He wore a neck brace for about six weeks. But facing the reality of never playing a sport he loves — that was the most difficult part.
“Knowing I was never going to play with my teammates again and maybe track was extremely frustrating,” he said. “I wasn’t able to be normal for a while and had to be guided with other people having to do stuff for me. I wasn’t really used to that. Everyone helped me along the way. People I didn’t even know were wishing me well and hoping I would get better.”
Kendle worked out five days a week and was cleared to compete in the shot put on March 23. He ended last season by throwing a 40-9 at districts. He won his first tri-meet this season throwing a 40-5, and made the finals at the Avon Lake Invitational on March 31.
What he’s doing now is nothing but gravy. But as a competitor, Kendle isn’t accepting anything less than his best effort. His personal record is 41 feet.
“My goal is to place at conference and at least reach 45 feet and make it to regionals,” he said.
Kendle is committed to Tiffin on academics, but is talking to track and field coach Jeremy Croy about possibly competing for the Dragons. He’s interested in Tiffin’s forensics program.
Working his way back has inspired the Midview community. Junior thrower Gretchen Hack, a good friend of Kendle’s, said his presence on the team has been uplifting.
“It’s honestly amazing that he’s bounced back,” she said. “He knew what he needed to do and he still wanted to compete this track season. Usually people would get scared of coming back to play sports, but he had no fear and that’s just in his personality and it’s amazing.”
Kendle’s life might have changed on that summer day less than a year ago, but it hasn’t changed him. It has only given him a better perspective of what he does have in life.
“I’m just so blessed to be here and compete every day in my senior season,” Kendle said. “I’m enjoying every moment.”
Amherst shines
The Comets took a trip to Johnson City, Tennessee, during spring break to compete in the Tri-Cities Track Classic.
The girls took second and the boys placed sixth out of 28 teams.
Three Amherst records were broken: Taylor Hooks in the 100 (12:23), Kayla Snowden in the steeplechase (8:19.20) and Gabriela Giannuzzi in the triple jump (32-11.50). Hooks was also a part of the winning 4x200 relay (with Audrey Fayer, Brooke Armbruster and Gracen Siegenthaler) and placed second in the 4x100 relay. Individually, she took second in the 100 and third in the 200. Junior Josh Hill placed second in the two-mile with a 9:42.26.
“Besides strengthening our team bond, a main reason we put together this trip is that we want our kids to experience what it will be like to have a championship meet on the road,” Amherst coach Rob Glatz said. “We’re very proud to host the SWC Championships, Districts and Regionals here at Amherst on our Richard S. Cooley Track. However, I feel that our kids are at a slight disadvantage when we go to the OHSAA state meet because they are used to having the qualifying championship rounds at our home track. This trip emulates several conditions our athletes will face in Columbus, so they are prepared for success. We want the athletes to get experience taking a longer bus trip, staying in a hotel, eating in restaurants and being in a two-day meet while sitting around waiting in the heat for qualifying rounds, so when they get down to Columbus for the state meet they are used to this type of situation.”